Is there room for Urban (African) Fantasy?

[JemimahKwakuyi]

New author here. I've been browsing and I noticed that there's not a lot fantasy based on real life cultures (maybe apart from Greek, Roman and similar stuff). Would this audience appreciate such stories like these? My novel is based in Ghana (West Africa), about Ghanaians and based on culture and things from Ghana.
Here's the link to my novel (click me) as well as a sypnosis.
Synopsis
The History of Vodun, West African Spirituality is filled with elements such as gods, spiritual realm and ritual sacrifices. We follow the story of twins Nikki and Mike whose worlds are turned upside down by the Third Level Vodun Neil who tries to kill Nikki for performing magic in front of Anfas; Dzidzor, the twins' ancestor, who was abused as a child and was saved by a mysterious character who sends her to Wagadu, a school of Vodun performers. Their worlds collide as they are chosen by specific gods in a pantheon called the Godhead. The influence of the gods grants them more power than they can imagine but when confronted with consequences, they find themselves questioning everything they ever knew.

 

[SirDogeTheFirst]

Fantasy stories based on legends and stories from Africa is super rare. Honestly, I never seen one before. So, depending on your stories contents and quality, you might strike gold or miss it completely. Also, I added the story to my reading list and will give you a basic feed back when I have time.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

New author here. I've been browsing and I noticed that there's not a lot fantasy based on real life cultures (maybe apart from Greek, Roman and similar stuff). Would this audience appreciate such stories like these? My novel is based in Ghana (West Africa), about Ghanaians and based on culture and things from Ghana.
Here's the link to my novel (click me) as well as a sypnosis.
Synopsis
The History of Vodun, West African Spirituality is filled with elements such as gods, spiritual realm and ritual sacrifices. We follow the story of twins Nikki and Mike whose worlds are turned upside down by the Third Level Vodun Neil who tries to kill Nikki for performing magic in front of Anfas; Dzidzor, the twins' ancestor, who was abused as a child and was saved by a mysterious character who sends her to Wagadu, a school of Vodun performers. Their worlds collide as they are chosen by specific gods in a pantheon called the Godhead. The influence of the gods grants them more power than they can imagine but when confronted with consequences, they find themselves questioning everything they ever knew.

Welcome to Scribble Hub!
There are only a couple fantasy stories that I have found on African cultures and only one of them is actually online (which is crazy given the absolute insane diversity within Africa, but that's American audiences for you).

All That is Holy (An Apocalyptic Progression Fantasy Epic)

The Reign of Gods is ending. The world is dying, strangled by gray fog spreading like a cancer. Forsaken by the gods, Odessa is forced from her home into this dying world of death and despair. Desperate to rise above the affliction tainting her soul, Odessa will find that the...

www.scribblehub.com

And the Tristan Strong series, which you can find in libraries.
Your book sounds awesome!

 

[SomethingStuffHappend]

Probably because you got to learn all these new terms that mean the same thing but they are just a little different because of culture.
Why it's so hard for many Western audiences to read something wuxia or xia or something idk cultivation novels.
What is Africa considered btw Western or Eastern?

 

[ArrogantYoungMaster]

Probably because you got to learn all these new terms that mean the same thing but they are just a little different because of culture.
Why it's so hard for many Western audiences to read something wuxia or xia or something idk cultivation novels.
What is Africa considered btw Western or Eastern?

Neither. Africa is Africa.

 

[SirDogeTheFirst]

Probably because you got to learn all these new terms that mean the same thing but they are just a little different because of culture.
Why it's so hard for many Western audiences to read something wuxia or xia or something idk cultivation novels.
What is Africa considered btw Western or Eastern?

Africa is Africa.

 

[SomethingStuffHappend]

We should start calling Africa side Southern its geographically correct I think.

 

[Vnator]

I'm all for it! I've been looking for/trying to make stories that use Indian mythology in them, so I understand the struggle and fully support you in your endeavors too. Though be careful when introducing new concepts western readers won't know, so they can easily digest it.

Your synopsis for example is very confusing to read, and could be fixed up to be easier to digest. The first sentence tries to hype up the culture, though that can be moved to the end. Second sentence is an absolute horror of a run-on that I completely lose track of right at the semicolon. Terms such as Vodun, Third Level, Anfas, are ones I don't know and there's not enough implied context in your synopsis to figure out what they are on first glance, and "performers" makes me think of acrobats or musicians rather than magic users. Then the sentence after that sounds like exposition, which would have been far more helpful with the previous sentence (but is still clunky).

How about this?
Twins Nikki and Mike worlds are turned upside down when Neil, Third Level Vodun, tries to kill Nikki for practicing magic in front of their ancestor(?). They've saved (by someone, add a name here) and sent to the magic school Wagadu to become Vodun performers themselves. But then worlds collide when they're chosen by various gods of the Godhead pantheon. The influence of the gods grants them more power than they can imagine but when confronted with consequences, they find themselves questioning everything they ever knew.

 

[Domoviye]

New author here. I've been browsing and I noticed that there's not a lot fantasy based on real life cultures (maybe apart from Greek, Roman and similar stuff). Would this audience appreciate such stories like these? My novel is based in Ghana (West Africa), about Ghanaians and based on culture and things from Ghana.
Here's the link to my novel (click me) as well as a sypnosis.
Synopsis
The History of Vodun, West African Spirituality is filled with elements such as gods, spiritual realm and ritual sacrifices. We follow the story of twins Nikki and Mike whose worlds are turned upside down by the Third Level Vodun Neil who tries to kill Nikki for performing magic in front of Anfas; Dzidzor, the twins' ancestor, who was abused as a child and was saved by a mysterious character who sends her to Wagadu, a school of Vodun performers. Their worlds collide as they are chosen by specific gods in a pantheon called the Godhead. The influence of the gods grants them more power than they can imagine but when confronted with consequences, they find themselves questioning everything they ever knew.

Go for it.
I can't promise I'll read it, I barely have time to read my own work, but Africa needs some love. I've read about some of the cultures and folklore and it's a fascinating place.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

New author here. I've been browsing and I noticed that there's not a lot fantasy based on real life cultures (maybe apart from Greek, Roman and similar stuff). Would this audience appreciate such stories like these? My novel is based in Ghana (West Africa), about Ghanaians and based on culture and things from Ghana.
Here's the link to my novel (click me) as well as a sypnosis.
Synopsis
The History of Vodun, West African Spirituality is filled with elements such as gods, spiritual realm and ritual sacrifices. We follow the story of twins Nikki and Mike whose worlds are turned upside down by the Third Level Vodun Neil who tries to kill Nikki for performing magic in front of Anfas; Dzidzor, the twins' ancestor, who was abused as a child and was saved by a mysterious character who sends her to Wagadu, a school of Vodun performers. Their worlds collide as they are chosen by specific gods in a pantheon called the Godhead. The influence of the gods grants them more power than they can imagine but when confronted with consequences, they find themselves questioning everything they ever knew.

So reading the first few chapters, the unique premise, environment, and the culture does quite a bit to carry the story, but all the grammar stuff (which I put in the comment section of the story) need to be fixed. Otherwise audiences will not appreciate the stories terribly much.
The plot in the later chapters (5-7) become too confusing to follow.

 

[ArrogantYoungMaster]

This daoist would be interested in reading African fantasy.

Just don't use the word "fetish" ever. Or do but prepare for the comments.

 

[APieceOfRock]

Probably because you got to learn all these new terms that mean the same thing but they are just a little different because of culture.
Why it's so hard for many Western audiences to read something wuxia or xia or something idk cultivation novels.
What is Africa considered btw Western or Eastern?

The Earth is round. Everywhere is Western and Eastern and Northern and Southern at the same time

 

[SomethingStuffHappend]

The Earth is round. Everywhere is Western and Eastern and Northern and Southern at the same time

Naw there is definitely a North South Pole that attracts and repels magnets. Idk shit about the equator

 

[JustLookingForSomeChange]

New author here. I've been browsing and I noticed that there's not a lot fantasy based on real life cultures (maybe apart from Greek, Roman and similar stuff). Would this audience appreciate such stories like these? My novel is based in Ghana (West Africa), about Ghanaians and based on culture and things from Ghana.
Here's the link to my novel (click me) as well as a sypnosis.
Synopsis
The History of Vodun, West African Spirituality is filled with elements such as gods, spiritual realm and ritual sacrifices. We follow the story of twins Nikki and Mike whose worlds are turned upside down by the Third Level Vodun Neil who tries to kill Nikki for performing magic in front of Anfas; Dzidzor, the twins' ancestor, who was abused as a child and was saved by a mysterious character who sends her to Wagadu, a school of Vodun performers. Their worlds collide as they are chosen by specific gods in a pantheon called the Godhead. The influence of the gods grants them more power than they can imagine but when confronted with consequences, they find themselves questioning everything they ever knew.

For sure. There are literally infinite story ideas that can be had, and 90% of the fiction market are essentially a few people who did something new and then everyone else tries to copy/emulate their styles and stories. For instance, probably more than half of the stories on RoyalRoad are isekai or cultivation, but there are endless untapped genres and subgenres out there like the one you've mentioned. There shouldn't be any constraints on creative writing else that'd defeat the purpose, so I'd recommend giving it a shot if you're passionate about the idea.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Placeholder]

Go for it. See also: https://www.tor.com/tag/african-sff/

I think you want to tighten up your synopsis to be as punchy and catchy as possible. Workshop it with people. Read it out loud.

And for the first few chapter, maybe include more paragraph breaks? They feel blocky, despite all the action and drama in them.

Old writing tip: Consider starting en media res - scrub the first few chapters and drop the reader in the middle of some action, and then dole out context and personal history as needed. Maybe do this, maybe not. Maybe lead the chapters with grabby magical fight scenes / spiritual exercises, then context about how miserable their lives are/were?

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/how-to-write-cant-look-away-chapter-breaks-what-i-learned-writing-storming/

https://medium.com/swlh/https-mediu...oat-clearing-out-of-your-writing-3d4021296bbb


> and no way they would use a surname DZIDZOR that annoying to pronunce

Quick google search suggests it's a normal common name in Ghana. Maybe speakers of ... Twi, Ewe, Fante, and Ga ... find it easy to pronounce.

> Also wtf with the ";" ?

That sentence was trying to do too much.

 

[Jemini]

For sure. There are literally infinite story ideas that can be had, and 90% of the fiction market are essentially a few people who did something new and then everyone else tries to copy/emulate their styles and stories. For instance, probably more than half of the stories on RoyalRoad are isekai or cultivation, but there are endless untapped genres and subgenres out there like the one you've mentioned. There shouldn't be any constraints on creative writing else that'd defeat the purpose, so I'd recommend giving it a shot if you're passionate about the idea.

Best of luck to you!

90%? Try 100%. Even the supposed people you mention who "did something new" were copying someone else.

Tolkein is accredited with re-shaping the face of the fantasy genre, but he was also inspired heavily by works like Beowulf and parts of the Christian Bible. There are also quite a few people who point out the similarities between Tolkein's elven society and the elves portrayed in "The King of Elfland's Daughter" by Lord Dunsany published in 1924.

That said, Tolkein has some of the best Dwarves in all of fantasy, including predecessors such as those originating from Norse and Germanic mythology.

If you keep researching older tails and looking back, you can find the inspiration for literally any story you might be looking at. About the only story you can possibly find that you can't find a similar older inspiration for are those out of Babylonian mythology, and the only reason you can't find older inspirations for them is because there was no written record that pre-dates the Babylonians.

(That said, the 12 labors of Heracles totally parallels the Epic of Gilgamesh.)

 

[TotallyHuman]

The Earth is round. Everywhere is Western and Eastern and Northern and Southern at the same time

It's not round

 

[thefinal13]

I am all in for any myth or legend.

 

[BlackKnightX]

A lot of people will not admit this, but we actually don't want original contents. No, seriously. When we perceive something as original, it's usually just a spin-off of the thing we already know and love.

Something truly original is called experimental, and it usually doesn't do well with popularity. Why? It's an unknown. A strange territory.

Many people seek comfort in reading stories, but stories that are too strange will need some serious effort to orient readers and get them comfortable first.

That's where the writing skill comes in. You have to know how to strike the balance between the familiar and the unfamiliar. Ease readers into your story first and then introduce something new.

 

[Sabruness]

you can put it up and chances are someone'll be curious enough to read it (and by the looks of this thread a few are). though you should never ask the title question in the way you did.

Tsuru has one point right though i think. Being different (as in built on something most people would have no clue about) is a benefit as long as you can package and sell it in the right way to potential readers. Dont try to sell it on the basis of it being 'look, my story is african based. you should read it because it's african'. that, imo, gives no info or intrigue point that could hook curious potential readers (and is the same theory behind moralists trying to browbeat people into believing or supporting a particular view or belief or something). hooting about it being different wont work.

that said, if it's too different you'll have an equal hard time selling people on it so you need to find the sweet spot that shows the difference but which can be relatable to something more well known. a similar theme to a particular legend or such. Just make something RELATABLE that can be the 'in' to readers getting interested enough to stick around when you then dig deeper into the culture and mythology.